


A Marriage In Motion Will Stay In Motion.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Series: Accidental Marriage Acquisition [2]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, POV Gregor Vorbarra, Podfic Available, Time Period: Reign of Gregor Vorbarra, impulse marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 06:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20223463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: Gregor hadn't intended to marry Ivan Vorpatril. But when the opportunity arose, he took it.





	A Marriage In Motion Will Stay In Motion.

1.

As soon as Ivan says it, Gregor knows it's not intentional. Gregor knows Ivan is making a mistake. Gregor knows Ivan's brain isn't paying any attention to what his mouth is doing.

Gregor marries him anyway.

2.

It had been a split second decision but not -- once he gets a chance to think it over -- a bad one.

Gregor's always known he was going to have to get married. It wasn't anything to look forward to. But of all the candidates, Ivan Vorpatril is far from the worst. Ivan has no ambition and won't be a danger either to Gregor or their inevitable children. And he's some-fraction-Betan, so it's a better choice than a pure Vor lady would be as far as Gregor's genetic paranoia goes. It's not perfect. It's not ideal. But from what he has to work with... Ivan isn't the _worst_ choice.

Gregor wishes he could pick something better than 'not the worst choice', but he may as well wish to sprout wings. It's not realistic for the Emperor of Barrayar to get to marry the way he wants to. There are a lot of things in Gregor's life that he's fought against since he first realized what his rank meant for his future, but being married to Ivan... it doesn't seem as imprisoning as some of his other choices would. There's no imposing father-in-law who might want to control him, and as mothers-in-law go, Lady Alys already controls a large part of Gregor's life. It's not like there'd be any changes there. The only relatives he'd be gaining are ones he already has.

But the rest of it? Could he see Ivan reigning next to him as his husband? Could he imagine Ivan doing that job? ...Ivan would need a lot of lessons, Gregor decides, but he himself isn't too far removed from his own endless lessons in how to be the Emperor. He doesn't think it would be an insurmountable challenge for Ivan to learn how to be the Emperor's husband.

At the core of it, could he envision himself spending his days and his nights with Ivan? Confiding in him? Trusting his judgment? Taking him to bed?

Gregor blushes like he didn't think he still could when he thinks about putting his hands on Ivan's collar and pressing his thumbs against his neck and feeling his throat work as he kisses him.

No. No, that part wouldn't be hard at all.

The biggest question was Ivan. Did _Ivan_ want to marry him? Gregor knew that Lady Alys would never pressure Ivan into staying married to him for some kind of familial gain; the Vorpatrils didn't need anything that would come with being married to the Emperor. Lady Alys would disdain the very idea. And Gregor knows Ivan. He isn't ambitious. The only question is if his lack of ambition would make him reject Gregor out of hand.

If Ivan were smart, he would. Gregor knows that. If Ivan were smart, he'd have nothing to do with this.

Gregor supposes he's banking on Ivan being as stupid as Ivan always insists he is.

3.

Gregor spends most of his time alone, surrounded by people he can't really talk to. He was eleven when the Vorkosigans moved out; if he wanted to see his foster brother, he had to make the effort to do so. If he wanted to see anyone, he had an entire office that existed to invite them properly. If he was alone and scared at night, surrounded by armed guards, huddled in the prison that is his Imperium... there wasn't anyone. There was no one he could talk to. That was the one thing he had looked forward to in his marriage: that there would be someone around to talk to. That there would be someone who understood him. Someone whose commitment to him didn't have a time limit. Someone whose obligation wouldn't vanish the day he turned twenty. Someone who would stay with him and help him and rule alongside him. Someone he could trust and who would trust him in return.

And that would be one thing he knows Ivan could give him. Ivan isn't scared of him. And if he is, it isn't too scared to talk to him. That's more than he'd get from a total stranger. 

Ivan really wasn't the worst choice he could make.

Gregor doesn't love him, but maybe that's a good thing. He'd feel guilty locking someone he loves into this prison of his life, especially when it was only Ivan's mistake that got Gregor thinking about Ivan as a possibility in the first place.

But Gregor thinks he could learn to love Ivan, but it's good that there isn't any passion there to convince Ivan of something he would otherwise refuse. They're going into this with both eyes open. No one is rushing anything because of sentiment. Ivan even seems to have forgotten he's married to Gregor in the first place. And that's excellent. It gives Gregor time to plan. It gives Gregor time to think. And he's come around on most of it.

There's only one question left: can they have children?

4.

It takes a better part of a year before the scientists at ImpMil can stand up a reproductive division that Gregor would trust his own child to. Gregor doesn't chafe at it; he needs the time to confront his biggest enemy. Lady Alys does not approve of the marriage. And if Gregor can't convince Lady Alys, then he might as well give up now. He'll need Lady Alys as his general for this war, if he really is going to stay married to Ivan.

He's the Emperor; no one can force him to divorce Ivan. But there are other ways to end an Imperial marriage. Lady Alys has a natural desire for her son to not be murdered. Gregor respects that. Lady Cordelia had burned down the Imperial Residence to save her son; Gregor doesn't want to imagine what Lady Alys would do to save Ivan. If Gregor doesn't have his mother-in-law's support for this, he's already lost.

It takes a lot of convincing and Gregor's pretty sure he's being coddled through most of it. Aunt Alys sees Gregor as a beloved nephew but also as an exasperating child. It's a matter of chance which way she feels toward Gregor on any given day. It's impetuous to stay married to Ivan. It's selfish. It's short-sighted. Gregor has to think of every single thing Lady Alys says he needs to think of. He has to understand what his position means. He has to think of the future.

Gregor has several meetings a week with ImpMil that say that, yes, he is thinking of the future and doing all he can to prepare for it. But that's not what Lady Alys means. Gregor and Ivan are both too young for Gregor to be able to sway her to his side with promise of grandchildren.

At least the lectures from Lady Cordelia are less emotionally mired. And Prime Minister Vorkosigan says blessedly nothing at all to Gregor about it. Aral never had much to say before about Gregor's marriage, and he has absolutely nothing to say about it now that it's secretly happened. Lady Cordelia tuts that Gregor is too young to be married, but Gregor's pretty sure that Aral was widowed by the time he was Gregor's age. Things are different when you have a Vor house to rebuild than they would be on Beta Colony. The Prime Minister doesn't care who Gregor marries and that's a relief as Gregor fights Lady Alys until Gregor finally, somehow, manages to say the right things to get her to come around.

It helps, Gregor knows, that he's thought about Ivan's happiness as well as his safety. It helps that he knows how to make it clear to Lady Alys that, although this marriage may have fallen into his lap, he's not taking it for granted. He's willing to work for it. He's willing to do what's necessary to stay married to Ivan Vorpatril.

The only thing yet to be sure of is Ivan himself.

And then Ivan says yes.

5.

Gregor divorces Ivan the night before the wedding. The oaths they make on the wedding circle have to be real oaths, they can't be mere regurgitations of what's come before. For the wedding to not be a mockery of Barrayaran tradition, Gregor must marry Ivan twice: the first time in haste, the second time in front of three planets.

Ivan looks suitably serious about all of it. He's not terrified, he's not intimidated, but he does look very aware of what he's doing. It's the complete opposite of their first time. Gregor's glad to see it. He doesn't know what he would do if Ivan was acting like he normally does, like he doesn't realize the import of anything around him. Maybe call off the wedding. Gregor doesn't want to marry Ivan if Ivan has to lie to himself about what he's doing. Gregor can accept Ivan putting on a brave face. He can't accept Ivan being in denial.

Still, he gives Ivan one last chance to back out. 

Ivan's shaking his head before Gregor can finish his sentence. "I said I'd do it, didn't I?" Ivan asks, full of bravado but with gritty determination beneath it. "If you think I can do this, then I can."

It's a heady trust, but one that Gregor knows very well. It's something he'd learned from Lady Cordelia: if enough people believe that Gregor is the Emperor, then he _becomes_ the Emperor. It takes collective belief to create Barrayar, to create Gregor himself. But that belief has its own power. It sustains itself. It keeps itself going. Gregor is the Emperor because Ivan thinks he is; Ivan will be Gregor's husband because Gregor believes he can be. That's the power in this. That's the weakness in this.

Gregor leans in to kiss Ivan gently on the lips for the first time. Ivan freezes a little in surprise, then his lips part. As first kisses go, it's something to build on.

When they part, Ivan's eyes are wide. He licks his lips reflexively. "Oh," Ivan says. "Oh. This will be easy."

Gregor slips his fingers through Ivan's and squeezes. "I hope so."

**Author's Note:**

> [this post on dreamwidth](https://lannamichaels.dreamwidth.org/1058428.html); [this post on tumblr](https://lannamichaels.tumblr.com/post/186968241925/a-marriage-in-motion-will-stay-in-motion-1726)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] A Marriage in Motion Will Stay in Motion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21922699) by [semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/semperfiona/pseuds/semperfiona_podfic)


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